Magic Shop - Paul Lahote FF

Twenty

For the first time since Julian went missing, I find myself relaxing. And there's a part of me that hates myself for it.

The pack was asked by Dr. Cullen to help watch over Isabella. Apparently some random vampire was in her house and Edward lost his shit bout it. I don't get to see Paul as much anymore, which is why I'm glad we finally have the weekend to spend time with one another.

"We didn't have to come way out here. I love going to the diner." I tell Paul as we enter some restaurant in Port Angeles.

Paul smiles cheekily. "It's our first date, and late birthday dinner. Plus, the salsa is to die for." The hostess greets us and leads us to an empty booth. The restaurant is half-crowded, some other couples on dates, a family here and there. The air is full of light chatter, a child laughing somewhere. It's nice. Peaceful almost.

A waitress writes down our order and disappears. I ordered enchiladas, my favorite. "I've been coming to Port Angeles my entire life and never knew about this place." I stare around in wonder. The restaurant is beautiful.

"My mom used to take me here for my birthday before she died. We wouldn't leave until everyone else was gone, we'd talk for hours." His eyes glaze over as he reminisces on the memories with his mother. He describes her looks, her voice, what she did to cheer him up.

I grab his hand across the table. "She sounds absolutely amazing."

Paul smiles. "She was. She would've loved you."

The waitress returns with our food. We talk about random things. He tells me more stories about his mother, I tell him stories about my cousin, Elliot. I told him what happened not long after I told Leah. Something like that, I didn't want to keep from him.

After we split the check - I refused to let him pay for my food - we walked down to the pier. Fortunately, the rain hadn't come tonight. Unfortunately, that meant a lot of people were present at the pier. We find an empty spot on the railing to lean against, just far enough away from the other people to have at least some privacy.

Paul shuffles on his feet before asking a question I didn't expect. "So, graduation is next week. Do you know what you're gonna do after?"

I begin chewing on my lip and shrug. "I've mentioned like a hundred times I want to go to California. I got accepted into West Coast University in Anaheim. It has a really great pharmacy program." Guess I enjoyed helping out at the store. "Move-in day is August 23. I don't know if I'm going."

Paul stares at me, brows furrowed. He opens his mouth, then closes it and shakes his head. "No. You're not gonna stay here for me."

"Why not?" Paul continues to shake his head. "We can't stay away from each other, and you can't leave the pack."

He grabs my hands in his. "I can. I will leave the pack for you. If it means you fulfilling your dreams, then I will leave them in a heartbeat."

"And despise me for it?" I shake my head. "They are your family. You need-"

Paul moves his hand to cup my cheeks. "You are my family, Caroline. I need you. I love you."

My heart stop as his eyes pour into mine, sending me into a dizzy-like trance. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me. That's all I can hear. Those three words circling through my mind on a loop. He loves me.

"I love you, Paul." The words come out as a whisper, but he still hears them. He scoops me into his arms, spinning us around. I rest my forehead on his as he places me back on my feet. "I love you."

~~~~~

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up." Jessica smiles brightly as she stares out into the crowd. Her lips turn down a fraction as they sweep over the empty seat in the front row left for Julian. When she glances at me, I try my best to send her an encouraging grin. She nods, takes a deep breath, and continues. "In my case, a princess." I hear Dani chuckle. She sits a few chairs to the left in the row before mine. "When we were ten, they asked again. We answered rock stars or cowboys, or in my case, gold medalist." More laughter is bear throughout the auditorium. "But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how bout this: who the hell knows?" I join in with a few other classmates and cheer.

Her speech sounds through my head as I stand with the rest of my row. This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions. It's the time to make mistakes. My name is being called and before I know it I'm walking across the stage. I can hear my parents and Paul cheer as I'm handed my diploma. Dani winks at me. Nova and Riley hug me as I pass them returning to my seat.

The principal says a few more words before I'm copying those around me and pulling my tassel to the opposite side.

Make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask again what we want to be, we won't have to guess. We'll know.

I envelope my parents in a hug after I find them once the ceremony ends. Mom says she didn't cry, but I can see the tear stains on her cheeks. Same with dad, who tries to appear all macho. They step aside when Paul walks up, mom sending me a smirk before grabbing dad and heading to speak with Dr. Cullen.

Paul presses a kiss to my cheek. "Congratulations, love." I quirk a brow at the name. Paul blushes and rolls his eyes.

"Line!" I stumble as someone jumps onto my back. Riley.

Nova and Dani appear at my sides, each with a wide grin. "We fucking graduated!" Nova receives some bewildered stares, but pays no attention to them. Riley gets off and removes my cap so he can ruffle my hair.

"Hey! I spent an hour on this!" It's true. Kinda. The styling only took me like ten minutes. The other fifty was spent figuring out what to do with my hair.

Dani notices Paul and sticks out her hand. "You must be Paul. I'm Dani." Paul shakes her hand. "The two weirdos behind me are-"

"I'm Nova!" Said blonde interrupts, posing dramatically.

Oh, no.

Riley copies his sister with a loud sigh. "And I'm Riley."

They link arms and do an extravagant twirl. "And we're the Quinn Twins!"

Paul stares with wide eyes at the twins, sending me a look that reads what the hell just happened? Chuckling, I move to stand next to him.

"You just experienced the amazing theme song for the Quinn Twins. Which hasn't been performed since after a baseball game sophomore year." Paul nods slowly as if trying to decipher what he just witnessed.

Dani shoves Nova. "Bitch, you interrupted me." Nova simply grins cheekily. "Anyways, we were just coming to see if Line changed her mind about the party tonight."

What part- oh. That party. "Yeah! The Cullens are throwing this wicked party and Line here won't come." Riley explains.

Paul visibly stiffens at the mention of the bloodsuckers. Luckily, my friends don't seem to notice.

"You should go." I turn to look up at Paul. What is he talking about? His voice lowers so no one else hears. "I don't like it, but your friends will be there. Go, spend some time with them." I nod and raise his hand to kiss his knuckles.

"I'll call you after." Paul nods and we embrace for going separate ways.

Honestly have no clue what this ending is. Had to get Caroline to the party somehow.